Which of the Big 5 Banks have the best WLB?

The grass is greener on the other side. I can't think of a time in the last 20 years where I've heard about more people feeling overworked and stressed. This is all due to people being couped up working from home and not having a lot of outlets for fun and recreation. To think that you are going to solve this problem simply by moving jobs is not a good idea. People are overworked and stressed in every industry. As folks have said above, if you can, pick your boss instead of a job/company. Reach out to your network of people that you'd like to work for and see if there are any opportunities or potential fits.

FWIW, I work for one of the big 5. My current boss is the best boss that I've ever had, and we monitor WLB on our team extreme closely. We actively prioritize and de-prioritize work, and we're not afraid to say no to other teams. At the same time, many of my colleagues on other teams and functions are just buried in work right now and burnt out.

If it is really depends on your division and which boss you work with.

I worked for RBC for 8 years and my wife is at TD for 15+ years.

There are stressful time and chill time depending the department and how toxic your boss is.

SW20 MR2 wrote: ↑ The grass is greener on the other side. I can't think of a time in the last 20 years where I've heard about more people feeling overworked and stressed. This is all due to people being couped up working from home and not having a lot of outlets for fun and recreation. To think that you are going to solve this problem simply by moving jobs is not a good idea. People are overworked and stressed in every industry. As folks have said above, if you can, pick your boss instead of a job/company. Reach out to your network of people that you'd like to work for and see if there are any opportunities or potential fits.

FWIW, I work for one of the big 5. My current boss is the best boss that I've ever had, and we monitor WLB on our team extreme closely. We actively prioritize and de-prioritize work, and we're not afraid to say no to other teams. At the same time, many of my colleagues on other teams and functions are just buried in work right now and burnt out.

That sounds amazing, what areas in the bank would have a better WLB? I'm currently in a client facing role (institutional clients) and it's pretty miserable and to be honest, I want nothing to do with clients anymore. I'd prefer a more analytical role where I don't have to run calls and be responsible for escalations.

I'd honestly take a demotion or paycut to find such a role within the areas of tech or cyber security.

Ziggy007 wrote: ↑ Data management / ops

Wow that sounds terrible. Those are IB hours which should net you 200k+. You need to find a new company/team. I am in this space and cannot relate to this at all.

I have worked at BMO, CIBC, and TD over the last 15 years. I find them all about the same and depends largely on the project, your role, the managers and the economic situation.

The more senior the role, the more expectations there are and targets you need to meet to achieve your bonuses. I have not had a "George Costanza" type job yet

LegendaryArticuno wrote: ↑ That sounds amazing, what areas in the bank would have a better WLB? I'm currently in a client facing role (institutional clients) and it's pretty miserable and to be honest, I want nothing to do with clients anymore. I'd prefer a more analytical role where I don't have to run calls and be responsible for escalations.

I'd honestly take a demotion or paycut to find such a role within the areas of tech or cyber security.

Areas where you're not client facing could help you reduce the pressure. Moving is easier said than done I know, and it depends on your level and how far down you'd go. But I know people in sourcing, procurement, finance, marketing, risk...its hard to say how much pressure a person feels as an outside observer, but I will say they don't have late meetings, and none before 9, and don't really look at their phones on weekends. At least this was true pre covid when Id see them.

As I said in an earlier post, there is no specific area that I or anyone can point you to. I would bet that I could find a colleague of your's in the exact same role who could tell me that their WLB is great. Don't automatically think that tech and cybersecurity are better than where you are now. It has more to do with the leaders and how they approach things. For my own team, it really starts with my boss. She is not only an extremely smart person who's great at her job, but she's just as good a human being who actually cares about her people. If you take care of your people, the people will take care of the business. It's not that complicated, but in the business world, things like politics, ambition, etc. get in the way to cloud people's judgement and influence their actions. Fortunately for my boss and I, we don't care too much for that type of stuff.

If there are areas of interest, reach out to your network of people that you would want to work for. This includes bank colleagues but perhaps even customers with whom you have a great relationship. See if there are potential opportunities to work for some of them.

In the meantime, find a release or an outlet of some sorts. I hope you have some hobbies or physical activities that can help you to relieve the stress. Take a week off and just recharge.

LegendaryArticuno wrote: ↑ That sounds amazing, what areas in the bank would have a better WLB? I'm currently in a client facing role (institutional clients) and it's pretty miserable and to be honest, I want nothing to do with clients anymore. I'd prefer a more analytical role where I don't have to run calls and be responsible for escalations.

I'd honestly take a demotion or paycut to find such a role within the areas of tech or cyber security.

no direct experience but i have heard from friends that Cibc bad, TD good.